Settlement shutters ThinkSecret; EFF: it?s for the best

One Apple rumor site down, how many to go? ThinkSecret has announced that it …

A ripple was felt through the Mac community early this morning, as one of its oldest and best-known rumor sites announced that it would be closing its doors. ThinkSecret announced that it had settled a three-year-old lawsuit with Apple, which resulted in the site's tipsters to remain anonymous, apparently at the expense of the site's continued operations. "I'm pleased to have reached this amicable settlement, and will now be able to move forward with my college studies and broader journalistic pursuits," said ThinkSecret publisher and Harvard undergrad Nick Ciarelli in a statement.

ThinkSecret has a long history of reporting on rumors, successfully predicting the introduction of the Mac mini as well as iWork in 2005. That prompted a lawsuit from Apple in an attempt to identify the leakers and to stop the site from continuing to publish what Apple called "trade secrets." Ciarelli fought back, obtaining representation from San Francisco firm Gross & Belsky so that he could fight the subpoena instructing him to give up his sources. (Ciarelli had originally asked the Electronic Frontier Foundation to represent him, but it was unable to do so at the time and referred him to Gross & Belsky.)

This was one of several cases that have challenged the distinctions between bloggers and journalists. Apple also sued ThinkSecret competitor AppleInsider, as well as O'Grady's PowerPage over the publication of trade secrets. Those sites, represented by the EFF, fought back, arguing that the First Amendment protected them from being compelled to disclose sources as a first line of defense—a stipulation meant to protect journalists.

At first, a California Superior Court judge ruled in favor of Apple, but the EFF appealed, arguing that forcing the sites to disclose sources could result in a "chilling effect" on the free flow of information to the public. The organization also pointed out that Apple must, by law, show that it had performed its own internal investigation in an attempt to find leaks before going to the press for the easy way out—something that soon became evident that Apple failed to do. Apple was finally dealt a loss in its case against AppleInsider and PowerPage, with the courts ruling that there could be no distinction between "legitimate" and "illegitimate" news when it came to the First Amendment, and that bloggers were functionally identical to journalists within the context of California's shield law.

But that case apparently did not affect the one against ThinkSecret, which had continued to move along separately. Apple argued that Ciarelli solicited for inside tips on his site, which the company argued was a violation of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

The reaction to ThinkSecret's closing has been mixed. Although not everyone has been fond of the site's "me too" reporting as of late, the precedent set by Ciarelli's settlement is very troubling. With ThinkSecret down, who will Apple go after next? "It's disappointing that Apple's leadership has chosen to turn its back on some of it most passionate enthusiasts and continue on with a campaign to silence media outlets which refuse to oblige by the company's own interpretations of free press," AppleInsider's Kasper Jade told Ars. "Letting corporate America dictate what bloggers and journalists can say or publish threatens to set a very ominous precedent for the future."

But the EFF's Kurt Opsahl has a different perspective on why things went down the way they did, and what it means for the community. "I'm very happy to see that no sources were disclosed," Opsahl told Ars.

He explained that Ciarelli had made a motion to have the case stricken under California's Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) laws, which protect citizens from being held liable for exercising speech rights. "Apple was faced with losing the case and having to pay attorney's fees," explained Opsahl, which is likely part of the reason why it decided to settle instead of continuing to pursue it. As for Ciarelli, "We understand that Nick is very satisfied with the outcome of the case," Opsahl said. "We hope that Apple learns a lesson over this."

Jacqui Cheng
Jacqui is an Editor at Large at Ars Technica, where she has spent the last eight years writing about Apple culture, gadgets, social networking, privacy, and more. Emailjacqui@arstechnica.com//Twitter@eJacqui